Tony Croft aka hamadryad

Tom, ive been doing this 25 years, im at the top of my game and that was a job and a half even for me, john would have had you up that but your not ready for that kind of job, a lot could have gone wrong on that. I know how keen you are, and your brave enough to have a go, of that there is no doubt. I want you to be the best too, it takes time and experience to do that kind of tree, your time is going to come, Im getting long in the tooth! I know it looked like an awesome tree, and awesome to do, and it was a lot of fun, but it also took every single minute of those years ive got on you to ensure it went well and was complete on time. When were done with you young padawon you will be an awesome arb worth your weight in every situation, be glad not sad that I have your back, cos no one had mine when I was your age, i just had to get on, and learn the hard way. I promise that next time we have a job like that youll get your chance, it will be upto you to decide if your gonna be a bigwood boss then! Climbing the big plane on campus is one thing, but knocking big lumps out from a 100ft while in the tree is quite another, as youll find out!

You did mate, great rope, throws lovely, supple yet hard wearing not too thick and therefore heavy. spot on in my book, doesnt pull out and loop much either. Dont know when it first came out but I bought it when It did and been on it ever since, did try a bit of Yale fire at one point but went straight back. works sweet with armor prus and the HC, once i get me pulley saver sorted I will have a set up i will use till the day I hang up my gear, never going to change it now, tried all sorts even spiderjack.

Shall get into some more pics and the full details in a moment on this but heres some photos of a massive beech I finished today (2 days full climbing) as you can see we halod a LOT, reduced ALOT! and it had a LOT of problems so lots to go over here, this is a good summary for now, shall grab some tea and get to some details after:thumbup1:

One is not forcing you to read nor even contribute to such threads, one might suggest if you have something to say on the matter of subject material you could stop moaning and get off your chair, go outside take some "cool photos" and share it with us all. Some folk are here to discuss ALL matters ARB related, the clue is in the title really, now, I will oblige and post away a nice and rather mahhoooosive beech reduction from the last 2DAYS! not many take me this long I can tell yee, awesome tree. See you over there Victor!

been using Tachyon for years, since it was first brought out in fact, wont use anything else now, and agreed suits the pantin well, use it all the time for re ascents on big reductions

oh shut up you wally, it was mint agreement till you showed up taking the mickey!

no not getting involved really!

lol, thats the first unanimous vote ever!

How many climbers have taken the time to attend a bat awareness course? How many arbs have a decent book on the subject of bats and their ecology? The truth of the matter is whatever the stats it isnt enough, and one course isnt enough to get one bat ready, you need to read the books before and after attending. I might even suggest that the bat courses are of less value than actualy getting involved with a bat group for a coupe of evenings in the summer. Experience is something you cant buy, only gain, it is down to the individual to do the right things and really take this issue seriously. I wouldnt mind betting that the assumption above regarding the climbers better knowledge on such issues is accurate, so the question HAS to be asked "who does the quotes and inspections and are THEY qualified to do the survey?" the answer is in most cases a resounding NO. The truth is we are unlikely to come across bats in the average tree other than lone males hiding in smaller features like loose bark plates or hazard beams (a particular favourite) However just about any veteran tree with decays and hollows with a sunny disposition to the cavity wall is likely to house a group of females with pups at some point either now, in the past or in the future. These maternity roosts must be given the highest priority, not just if attended but in perpetuity, for these are rare places, and too many are being lost. I am certainly also not surprised by the bats in stump comment above, if there is one thing you can be certain of is that if there is no suitable places they will use less favourable ones. I would say if your serious about taking care about bats, then there are certain things to be acutely aware of. These should help evaluate quickly when it is a serious potential as opposed to just a rare possibility. First and foremost get onto the bat conservation trust and find out if there is a local group in your area, theres a lot of folk into bats, they are a strange breed that live by night, but are not a rare species, surprisingly bats are a popular wildlife hobby, Weirdly more so with women, its true! if your near to ancient woodland be on High alert, as with field edges and especially those with old hedgrows on their boundaries, within a mile of a watercourse is also prime especially with Daubentons which feed over water, this is also Pip territory as they feed on mozzis/knats a lot. ive found Daubenton roosts upto a mile from water in a simple old dead beech in an old woodpecker roost, Five of the buggers! Old towns, like those picture perfect market towns with the odd thatch roof, watch out, they will be EVERYWHERE! I kid you not. thinking about it it is long overdue I put some bat books into bookclub and will make that a priority. Just be alert, do all you can, thats all anyone can ask, take some time to understand them, the preferences they have their ecology etc and one thing I promise you is that youll find yourself admiring these little mammals, for they are a highly intelligent and very diverse group, the most diverse group of mammals in fact.

Mate that sucks, thats a lot of gear. see you Saturday all being well.

sapro in association with re iterated roots?

I would say this would be the last book on earth I would pick up! what a waste of reading time!

mate, wouldnt want to dampen your spirit but you slipped into old age ages ago!

FMWR Shwarze diagnosis of wood decay is avaliable as a kindle download though unavaliable as a print.

Good to hear Justin, see you friday evening,coming up aftr work, will I be able to get in the gate? and is there room for me tent?

up to 30 I was unbearably fit, by my 20's my stamina was at its peak and I could go all day all week and was gym working in the evenings till 9pm somedays. I can still graft me nuts off and fly round bigwood, but to me I feel more tired than I used to, vigour is definatley on the wain!

He done us all proud, played a bloody good game against the best player ever born. Like the man says, "I'm getting closer!"

its not over by a long stretch!

Why knock a man for being patriotic about HIS heritage?

I am not a big sports fan usualy, and certainly not that into tennis, more a player than a watcher, but this game is tension! tit for tat all the way, every point hard graft! loving this, a game to be enjoyed, get it on the telly now! going to be such a good year for sport

The fact the rain had to stop at some point was considered, but the field was beyond saturation point and simply would have taken days if not weeks to dry enough to make it viable. On another note, this event was organised at great expense and time input for the northern crowd, and yet was not only undersubscribed but around 50% of those attending where from the south, some with a 7 hour journey ahead of them. I am not having a dig at those north of the watford gap but was that not a sad statistic? When this arbfest idea gets re organised please support this event and attend if you can, this was not going to generate a profit, it was for YOU lot up north and if it doesnt get support I cant see it being able to go past 2 events, which would be a great waste and loss to all. If there is one posative to come out of this cancelation I hope it is that when its re worked it is better attended and suported BY YOU ALL:thumbup:

I knew we was in trouble, its a long drive for me to Leeds and all the way it poured down, getting heavier and heavier, I even said to Ed I wonder how many folk we see this and just turn around! Such a shame but was the right call to cancel, the guys camping in the field would have had a MISERABLE night, the marquee, well if we had sat down our chairs would have sunk! Theres a lot of "we can do it" spirit about but this was just not that sort of time!